Within three days of three NFL teams interviewing Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt for head coach jobs, the Chargers went scoreless for three quarters in Sunday’s playoff game against the Broncos.

Three 3s was enough to set off many Chargers fans. In comments to the U-T, they fumed that Whisenhunt’s time schmoozing with other teams could’ve been used preparing San Diego's offense. Whiz's career gain was the team’s loss.

“This a rant,” Bolts fan Chad said in Monday’s chat at utsandiego.com, “but I hope Whisenhunt’s interviews and draw plays hit him on the way out. You can't say that (Sunday’s) awful play calling wasn't affected by his ‘distractions’ all week.” On Twitter, Chargers fan Dave deemed it “utter insanity” that an assistant coach be allowed to interview for jobs days before a playoff game.

Pass rusher
23% (1255)

Nose tackle
22% (1212)

Cornerback
50% (2767)

Safety
3% (156)

Wide receiver
3% (178)

5568 total votes.

The jockeying for jobs is annoying. NFL players under contract aren’t allowed to negotiate with other teams, yet coaches are. Leading up to the Chargers’ biggest game in four years, Whisenhunt was meeting with the Titans, Lions and Vikings. For the so-called "ultimate team sport," it was the wrong message.

There is no villain here, though. NFL rules shaped by a hyper, $9 billion industry mandated the Chargers allow Whisenhunt to be interviewed last week, unless the parties involved agreed to wait.

And if allowed the choice, Mike McCoy couldn’t have rightly stood in Whisehunt’s way. McCoy hired Whisenhunt last January knowing there was a good chance another NFL team could seek him as soon as this January. Whisenhunt for the previous six years was the Cardinals' head coach. He'd taken Arizona to its only Super Bowl. McCoy was new to head coaching, at any level. Employing Whiz only a year beat not having him at all.

For Whisenhunt, leaving McCoy was a chance to return to the mountain top. The job pays a lot better, too.

Taking a different approach, Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase, a former McCoy protege, has made it known he won’t interview for a head-coach job until after the Broncos are done playing.

Time was tighter for Whisenhunt, who is 16 years older than Gase, a first-year playcaller.

The NFL's packed winter calendar accelerates this ego-stroking game of musical chairs. The sooner a coach is hired, the more time for him to tackle big tasks, such a hiring up to 20 assistants and evaluating up to 60 players on his new team. In addition, he'll scout and meet with college prospects as early as late January.

Sometimes, it takes his team losing at the right time for a coordinator to move up. McCoy, for instance, probably wouldn't be the Chargers' coach today, had the Broncos won their playoff game against the Ravens last January, because he would've been off limits to Chargers owner Dean Spanos until after the Super Bowl.

Within 24 hours of the Chargers' 24-17 loss in Denver, Whisenhunt was announced as the new head coach of the Titans. Philip Rivers, who shares the same agent, was asked if he thought the job interviews impaired Whisenhunt's final performance. "I think that's crazy, honestly," Rivers said. "He was all in, all week. He handled it like a pro."